Widmer has insisted that he is innocent and defense attorneys have suggested that Sarah Widmer had a sleep disorder that may have caused her to lose consciousness and drown in her bathtub.
Widmer was convicted by a jury in April but Judge Neal Bronson ordered a new trial after juror misconduct came to light. Because Sarah Widmer’s body was dry when paramedics arrived at her house, prosecutors suggested she had not been in a filled bathtub at the time of her death; some jurors acknowledged that they had done their own “how long does it take to dry?” tests at home and — contrary to rules for jurors — shared those results with other jury members.
And now a Warren County commissioner is raising Cain because of a new report — released just last week — that raises the ironic possibility that the 911 dispatcher who answered Ryan Widmer’s call on the night of Sarah’s death may have been sound asleep when the call came in.
Commissioner Dave Young said Oct. 15 that security cameras will now be installed in the communications center to monitor dispatchers and a consultant will reportedly be hired to conduct a review of the center’s management. Young said that a supervisor acknowledged, as part of the investigation, that “people pretty much sleep all the time” at the center.
Young also is concerned about timing — why the allegation about dispatcher Ron Kronenberger, who testified in Widmer’s trial, only came to light earlier this year and wasn’t investigated until August 2009. “It happened to relate to arguably the most important 911 call we’ve ever gotten and no one seemed (to think) it was important enough to bring to their boss’ attention,” Young said. “A murder trial had just ended two weeks before and now people are talking about the circumstances surrounding that call?” Good point, commissioner.
We also were perplexed by comments made last month by Warren County Coroner Russell Uptegrove regarding tests done to determine Sarah Widmer’s cause of death. Asked by staff writer Denise Callahan about anecdotal accounts of sleep disorders and heart conditions that cannot be detected during an autopsy, Uptegrove said he is aware other testing can be done, but “it’s quite expensive and it takes a fairly long time to get the results.” Considering that a man’s freedom hangs in the balance and that Sarah Widmer’s friends and co-workers testified that she often went to sleep at unusual times, further testing might have been appropriate, we believe. And we believe it’s fair to ask the coroner: When, if ever, and under what circumstances are these other tests done? Is cost the determining factor?
We do not presume to know the guilt or innocence of Ryan Widmer. We do know, however, that county officials are correct to be concerned about the revelations that have emerged since the first trial ended. The county’s apparent lax methods and management of the communications center should give Widmer’s new defense team plenty to consider while they prepare for a new trial.
“We’re going to flip over all the rocks,” Commissioner Young has promised. When this case finally has been resolved, we hope that taxpayers get a full accounting from county officials about what was under the rocks.